HALFTIME ANALYSIS: Utah State 34, Western Michigan 30

LOGAN, Utah — If this game were being played anywhere east of the Mississippi, Western Michigan might be up 10.

The Broncos are hanging in with big shots, most recently a pair of 3s by Nate Hutcheson, despite extreme foul trouble.

Flenard Whitfield and Matt Stainbrook both have three fouls, and Juwan Howard Jr. and Muhammed Conteh each have two.

The same thing happened to WMU in every game at the World Vision Invite in Eugene, Ore., three years ago. This simply isn't men's basketball out here.

That said, this is why you have to have depth to win. And WMU has decent depth. Eight Broncos have scored in the first half, with players like Conteh hitting unexpected jumpers.

Utah State is solid and disciplined, but their personnel isn't anything that's going to run the Broncos off the court — if WMU can keeps its players on it.

If Whitfield doesn't play most of the second half, Utah State wins by double digits. WMU has to be smarter — one of Stainbrook's fouls was stupid and you can't have those in this environment. That said, it might not matter. What is and isn't a foul in the Midwest is so different from here. My advice to WMU: Get your money's worth. Send a message. If you're going to foul, foul.